Cluj chief Bogdan Mara has claimed that his side wanted to avoid Celtic more than any other team when the Europa League group stage draw was made.
The Romanians were unable to repeat their Celtic Park heroics of August as they went down 2-0 to Neil Lennon’s men on Thursday night. The Hoops were up for the clash from the first minute and Mara admits that was his biggest fear going into the Group E clash.
“We said when the draw came out we would take any team except Celtic and we were proved right,” the former player told the Daily Record.
“Celtic were extremely motivated. They didn’t expect to lose to us and for them it was extremely embarrassing and they wanted revenge badly.
“The stadium was full, they were ready for it – I knew it wasn’t going to go our way.
“We’ve also had to play a lot of games recently and the travelling had an impact on us.
“But I also have to say the speed and fitness of the Celtic players was extraordinary. I’ve never seen that.”
Cluj will now be motivated for December Celtic clash
It’s hard to argue with anything that Mara had to say. The Celtic team, management and support were all up for revenge on Thursday night. The Champions League loss to Cluj hurt us all very badly and we were itching to set the record straight.
While Cluj didn’t fancy drawing us again, we were very happy to see them come out the hat for a shot at redemption.
We won’t face them again until the final matchday in mid December and by then the group could look very different. Ideally, we would be in a terrific position to qualify at that stage and perhaps need just a point to make it through.
The away clash in Romania is likely to be a lot tougher as it is they who will have revenge on their mind this time round. We must keep the anger of August’s defeat firmly in our mind for that one. It could be the difference between qualifying for the round of 32 and not.
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